


But I'll Get Around It

by Xyriath



Category: Avengers Academy, Avengers: The Initiative, New Warriors
Genre: Body Worship, First Time, M/M, brief mentions of self harm
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-07
Updated: 2013-10-07
Packaged: 2017-12-28 16:25:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/994052
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xyriath/pseuds/Xyriath
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Commission for Subtle_Salieri, who asked for Vance/Robbie body worship and blindfolds.</p>
            </blockquote>





	But I'll Get Around It

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Subtle_Salieri](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Subtle_Salieri/gifts).



> Takes place some time after [You're a Hard Soul to Save](http://archiveofourown.org/works/785363), and is technically a "threequel" to it--there's another story in between the two I might write someday.

Robbie could kid himself and pretend that Vance was fooled.

 

Hey, he almost fooled himself.  It wouldn't have been that out of character for his old self—especially one who had waited this long to try that whole "sex" thing.  So many kinks to try, so little time.  Why not use a blindfold for your first go?

 

He had psyched himself up to it with that, too.  After all, it _could_ have hypothetically been a case of "I want this to be really intense."  Who said it had to be "I hate the way I look so much that I don't even want to look at myself"?

 

And then there was the fact that it was _Vance._

 

Vance, who had already slept with that Susie chick—and Robbie tried not to resent her for it, he really did.  Vance, who always seemed to be so _nice_ and _understanding_ and—all right, maybe there was a reason he was dating the guy, but it could also be draining dating perfection.

 

(Vance would have protested at the wording; of course he would have.  That didn't exactly help his case.)

 

So Robbie figured it would be easier if he could make himself not think about what he really looked like.

 

They hadn't had a blindfold on hand, and Robbie hadn't really wanted to take the time to go get one, so they had improvised.  Which was how Robbie found himself sprawled out in Vance's bed, a tie knotted around his eyes and Vance's lips pressed to the spot right below his ear.

 

"Are you sure about this, Robbie?" came the murmur, infinitely and _infuriatingly_ understanding.  "I told you, we don't have to if you don't want to."

 

"I _want_ to."  Robbie wished he'd _stop_ asking—he became less sure every time Vance did.  "I promise."

 

"All right, all right."

 

Vance pressed his lips to his ear again, then moved to Robbie's lips.  The kiss was soft and lingering, sweet enough to make Robbie's throat tighten, but he tried to push away the discomfort.

 

He felt Vance's hands catch the hem on his shirt, and he tried not to stiffen, freeze up.  He forced himself to breathe steadily as it came up and over his head.  This was the worst part of it, having Vance first see him like _this,_ wishing that he had tried to make the room a little darker.

 

But Vance didn't pause, no hesitation in his actions at all.  As soon as Robbie's shirt came off, he kissed him again, firmer and a bit more urgent, yes, but still with that seemingly unshakeable assurance.

 

Robbie found his hands winding around the back of Vance's neck, pressing up against him, almost wishing he could see his face but knowing that the expression there would probably be too much.  Vance pressed back, kissing him harder before giving attention to the corner of his mouth, his cheek, his chin... and then down his neck.

 

It wasn't the first time Robbie had been kissed there, by any means.  Not even by Vance.  But he noticed a difference, a bit more of an urgency, a desire to—to what, exactly?  It wasn't just sexual, but—

 

He jerked slightly with a small gasp as Vance bit gently, then kissed him again before moving on to another spot.  He felt his toes curl involuntarily as he closed his eyes—not that it made any difference—and Vance continued to make a map across Robbie's neck with his lips.  For a moment, Robbie enjoyed it wholeheartedly—until he realized what it was that Vance must be kissing, how many scars and blemishes must be visible that close, and he instinctively jerked away for a moment.

 

"You're beautiful, you know," Vance breathed into the place where Robbie's shoulder met his neck.

 

"Wh—"

 

"I know you think I'm just humoring you, but..."  The lips brushed against his shoulder.  "I'm not.  And if you'll let me, I want to show you how much."

 

Robbie opened his mouth to reply, but the only thing that came out was incoherent stammering.

 

"I love all of you.  Every part."  Robbie's throat constricted as Vance continued.  "I know you hate the scars."  He felt Vance's fingers trace from the shoulder to the collarbone, then down to the center of his chest.  They rested right above the slightly itchy spot that Robbie _knew_ was absolutely visible, even in the poor light.  The spot where the largest spike from his Penance suit had been, and which he... he might have still irritated from time to time.  "They don't make you ugly.  No matter what you might think."

 

Robbie flinched again, biting down hard on his lip to keep from saying—what?  What _could_ you say to that?  This... this wasn't sexy, Vance bringing up the exact thing he didn't want to imagine Vance could see, and hearing him _talk_ about it...

 

The thing was, Vance sounded like he meant it.  Robbie just didn't know if he could believe it.

 

"Vance..."  He felt like he had to say something, tell him that Vance didn't have to lie to him, but even though he could feel that Vance had paused, was probably watching him and listening intently, he couldn't think of anything to say.

 

"They do," was all he could blurt out.

 

He heard a rustling sound from above him, and when he heard Vance say "no" he realized that it must have been him shaking his head.  "They don't."  Robbie felt Vance lean down again, and his lips pressed up against the largest scar, then to where Robbie knew several others were by heart.  "I won't say they don't matter, because they do, but they don't make you ugly, or unlovable."  Robbie's breath caught in his throat, and Vance took his hand, kissing the palm.  "They're a part of you, yes, but they're not the only part."

 

Robbie's arm tensed as Vance kissed his wrist.  The lips skimmed lightly up the skin marked by crisscrossed scarring, and for a moment Robbie didn't understand how Vance could stay there, how it didn't bother him.  The lips didn't specifically touch the scars, however.  Sometimes, yes, but Vance was acknowledging everything as a _whole_ , not just the awful parts.

 

He didn't flinch away when Vance took his other arm and did the same—in fact, didn't even want to this time.  Vance's other hand was cupped around Robbie's waist, and the tenderness in that touch, of his hand, of his lips, of _everything_ was overwhelming.

 

And for a moment, Robbie _didn't_ hate the fact that Vance could see him.

 

Vance shifted, returned to Robbie's chest and kissing down it before biting lightly at his sides.

 

"There's so much more than those, you know," he said after reaching his ribs, an amused tone in his voice before placing another long, gentle kiss there.  "You're a superhero, after all.  Muscles come with the business."

 

Robbie felt the chuckle escape his lips before he could help himself.  He could imagine the grin on Vance's face, equal parts pleased and relieved, before he began kissing down Robbie's stomach again, fingers working quickly at his pants.

 

A tongue swept across Robbie's hipbone, and he jerked again, but this time in a far _different_ way.  He felt Vance's lips curl up in a smile against the skin of his abdomen.

 

"I love it when you do this, too," he continued, turning the light pressure into long, slow kisses across his hip.  Robbie involuntarily lifted them at the contact, toes curling again, with a gasped, "Vance!" and a quick burial of his fingers in the head of hair down near his waist.  But Vance didn't stop, just continued kissing and licking with the very occasional nip, and by the time he stopped, Robbie could feel his erection pressing into Vance's shoulder and had a leg slung around Vance's back.

 

"Hips are good, then," Vance murmured innocently, and Robbie tried to huff indignantly.  Tried, because it came out more as a shaky gasp, but he quickly forgot it as Vance's lips made their way across Robbie's stomach, then stopped.

 

Robbie knew why.  He could feel the slight tension in Vance's shoulders—more than slight, now, and for one awful moment Robbie thought of what he was looking at there and realized how _repulsive_ it must be.

 

Then a deep breath from above him, not quite a sob, but shaky nonetheless, and Robbie felt something else there.  Against that scar in particular.  For a moment, he had no idea what it might be, but then he felt Vance take another shaky breath and realized that he must have pressed his forehead there.

 

"Robbie—"

 

Vance's voice broke, but not before Robbie heard the fear there, the concern, the sadness, the _relief_ , all mingled there and more.  For a moment the memories of the fear _he_ had felt when the bullet had ripped into him flooded back.  Thinking of Vance seeing that, though, finally gaining back one of the most important people in his life only to lose him again...

 

Well, it was something he could only think of for so long.

 

"It's okay, Vance.  I promise."

 

He felt more than heard a soft, breathy chuckle, and shook his head at the mumbled "sorry" before Vance pulled away, kissing his way back up to Robbie's lips.  He was more tender this time, and Robbie couldn't remember—no, was positive that he had never felt someone so absolutely _grateful_ to have him in their arms before.

 

He didn't realize that the blindfold was damp until Vance kissed him again, a bit more desperately this time, then pressed his lips everywhere on Robbie's face that they could reach.  They paused right beneath the blindfold, hesitating, before Robbie made a sudden decision and reached up to tug it off and toss it aside.

 

Vance's face hovered inches above his own, lips lifted in a smile, but eyes a bit bright.  Robbie wasn't one to talk—he could feel the tears forming as he reached up to take Vance's face and pull it down to his own.

 

Vance kissed him as if he were frightened of losing him all over again—and unfortunately, it was a fair thing to worry about.  Robbie kissed back with as much urgency, wordlessly telling him that _it won't happen again, not if I have anything to say about it._   After a moment, Vance pulled back again, and Robbie opened his eyes to see those brown eyes studying his face as if they had never seen anything more precious.  For a moment, Robbie looked back, still finding it a bit hard to believe that this was actually going to happen, that he was going to be able to do this with _Vance_.

 

After what Robbie deemed was a sufficient amount of time staring into each others' eyes, he tugged Vance down and kissed him again, wrapping his legs around Vance's waist to make his intentions clear.

 

Vance just nodded, pulling back, grabbing what he needed.

 

Robbie was too preoccupied to worry if it was going to hurt until after the fact, but of course it didn't.  This was Vance.  Vance, who stopped and kissed him every time he started to get nervous, who went achingly slow as he pressed inside, who held him gently as they moved together.  And who, after the fact, pulled Robbie into his arms and kissed him tenderly, only pulling back to press their foreheads together, a content smile on his face as he studied Robbie's face.

 

"You all right?" he murmured finally, lacing their fingers together.

 

Robbie nodded breathlessly, unable to keep the shy smile from spreading across his face.  "Yeah."  He swallowed, the smile turning into a grin as he watched Vance.  "I'm gonna be."


End file.
